What explains the variation in length of stamens and styles in a pollen flower? a study exemplified by Macairea radula (Melastomataceae)

Oliveira, Larissa Chagas de; Matias, Renan Augusto Miranda; Furtado, Marco Túlio; Romero, Rosana; Brito, Vinícius Lourenço Garcia de

doi:10.1007/s00606-022-01808-0

Cited by 4 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 75 publications

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“…In the studied oilseed rape cultivars, the long stamens exhibited higher pollen counts than the short stamens, except in the AYW cultivar in the early flowering stage and HHY998 in the late stage. Variations among stamens and styles have been reported to be an outcome of selective forces, driven mainly by pollinators (Oliveira et al, 2022). However, we have not obtained any information indicating why the long and short stamens show different pollen counts, and therefore further studies should be performed to explore the functions of the long and short stamens.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 64%

“…The high pollen count in the full bloom stage implied that there may be higher reproductive pressure in this stage. From the perspective of insect pollination, a high pollen count should provide a greater reward to pollinators to improve the pollination competition (Oliveira et al, 2022). An interesting finding in this study was that the pollen counts of the long stamens were greater than those of the short stamens.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, the number of pollen Brassicaceae grains also changed (Masierowska, 2012). Each oilseed rape flower has two short and four long stamens, and the difference in stamen length has been indicated to be related to the interaction between the plants and pollinating insects (Oliveira et al, 2022). Is this difference associated with the difference in pollen counts on the stamens?…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Pollen Count Dynamics in Rapeseed Stamens in Early Spring

Wei,

Liu,

Ding

et al. 2023

Journal of Apicultural Science

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Pollen contains vegetative and generative cells that influence the seed set. Accurate pollen assessments help understand the breeding biology of oilseed rape. In order to evaluate the number of pollen grains in a large number of samples, an effective method should be designed. A new method was established to evaluate the pollen counts of five oilseed rape cultivars. This method mainly relies on 5% sucrose + 0.1% agar solution to suspend the pollen and uses a standard curve corresponding to the absorbance and the number of pollen grains to estimate the number of pollen grains. The linear fit formula of this standard curve was precision, and the R2 value between the pollen count and absorbance reached 0.998. Furthermore, the variation in the pollen counts at three flowering stages and on two kinds of stamens was assessed. The pollen count per flower varied significantly among oilseed rape cultivars and flowering stages (GLM: p<0.001). Moreover, the number of pollen grains on long-stamen anthers was significantly higher than that on short-stamen anthers (GLM: p<0.001). In conclusion, we established a rapid, accurate method for quantifying pollen grains based on absorbance determined in a liquid suspension by light spectroscopy, which is a feasible method. In addition, the number of pollen grains under different physiological conditions also provides basic data for oilseed rape breeding.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 64%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Pollen Count Dynamics in Rapeseed Stamens in Early Spring

Wei,

Liu,

Ding

et al. 2023

Journal of Apicultural Science

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“…The buzzing behavior of the bees visiting these flowers is highly variable, ranging from buzzing one stamen at a time to all stamens at once, and is determined by their size (i.e., whether bees are large enough to grasp all stamens at once, Mesquita‐Neto et al, 2018). Ultimately, selection on traits mediating fit with different‐sized bee pollinators may be a major driver of floral diversification and specialization (Delgado et al, 2022; Oliveira et al, 2022). Although this possibility has not been tested in Melastomataceae, experimental work in other buzz‐pollinated groups ( Solanum , Solanaceae; Chamaecrista , Fabaceae) indeed suggests a strong effect of traits mediating fit between flower and pollinator (i.e., stamen–stigma distance) and bee size on reproductive success (Solís‐Montero and Vallejo‐Marín, 2017; Mesquita‐Neto et al, 2021).…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

Using geometric morphometrics to determine the “fittest” floral shape: A case study in large‐flowered, buzz‐pollinated Meriania hernandoi

Dellinger,

Hanusch,

Oswald

et al. 2023

American J of Botany

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Premise: Floral shape (relative arrangement and position of floral organs) is critical in mediating fit with pollinators and maximizing conspecific pollen transfer particularly in functionally specialized systems. To date, however, few studies have attempted to quantify flowers as the inherently three-dimensional (3D) structures they are and determine the effect of intraspecific shape variation on pollen transfer. We here addressed this research gap using a functionally specialized system, buzz pollination, in which bees extract pollen through vibrations, as a model. Our study species, Meriania hernandoi (Melastomataceae), undergoes a floral shape change from pseudocampanulate corollas with more actinomorphically arranged stamens (first day) to open corollas with a more zygomorphic androecium (second day) over anthesis, providing a natural experiment to test how variation in floral shape affects pollination performance. Methods: In one population of M. hernandoi, we bagged 51 pre-anthetic flowers and exposed half of them to bee pollinators when they were in either stage of their shape transition. We then collected flowers, obtained 3D flower models through x-ray computed tomography for 3D geometric morphometric analyses, and counted the pollen grains remaining per stamen (male pollination performance) and stigmatic pollen loads (female pollination performance). Results: Male pollination performance was significantly higher in open flowers with zygomorphic androecia than in pseudo-campanulate flowers. Female pollination performance did not differ among floral shapes. Conclusions: These results suggest that there is an "optimal" shape for male pollination performance, while the movement of bees around the flower when buzzing the spread-out stamens results in sufficient pollen deposition regardless of floral shape.

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“…Similarly, in large flowers, it is difficult to ensure that high‐ and low‐level sexual organs make contact with the body surfaces of most pollinators simultaneously due to excessive stigma–anther separation. Only moderately moderately‐sized flowers, with flower lengths typically ranging from 5 to 30 mm, may preserve stigma–anther separation and allow high and low‐level sexual organs to make contact with different parts of the pollinator's body surface simultaneously due to conducive stigma–anther separation (Barrett, 1992 ; Brys & Jacquemyn, 2020 ; Deschepper et al., 2018 ; Furtado et al., 2021 ; Oliveira et al., 2022 ; Raupp et al., 2020 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Asymmetrical disassortative pollination mediated by long‐/short‐tongued pollinators in a distylous Limonium myrianthum (Plumbaginaceae) with a short corolla tubular small flower

Jiao,

Wang,

Zhang

2024

Ecology and Evolution

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In heterostylous plants, short‐tongued pollinators are often ineffective/inefficient owing to the limitations imposed by a long corolla tube. However, it is unclear how disassortative pollen transfer is achieved in small flowers. We investigated the pollination pattern and floral morph variation by analyzing heterostylous syndrome, pollinator groups, and pollen deposition after a single visitation in two Limonium myrianthum populations with short‐corolla‐tubular small flowers. The predominant pollinators in the Hutubi population were pollen‐seeking short‐tongued syrphids, which can only transfer pollen between high‐level sexual organs. In the Xishan population, nectar‐seeking short‐tongued insects were efficient pollinators with symmetrical disassortative pollen transfer between high‐ and low‐level sexual organs, whereas long‐tongued pollinators had a low efficiency between high‐level sexual organs due to the low contact probability with the stigma of long‐styled flowers (L‐morph), which no longer offered the same advantage observed in tubular flowers. Asymmetrical disassortative pollination may cause the female fitness of short‐styled (S‐morph) individuals in the Hutubi and L‐morph individuals in the Xishan population to suffer greater selection pressure and exhibit a higher degree of floral morph variation. Limonium myrianthum exhibits an unusual pollination pattern in which the small flowers with short corolla tubes make it possible for short‐tongued insects to become effective pollinators. However, factors such as the position of stigma–anther within the flower, pollinator species and their preference further caused asymmetrical disassortative pollen transfer. Therefore, more factors should be considered when evaluating the effectiveness of short‐ and long‐tongued insects in pollination service.

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What explains the variation in length of stamens and styles in a pollen flower? a study exemplified by Macairea radula (Melastomataceae)

Cited by 4 publications

References 75 publications

Pollen Count Dynamics in Rapeseed Stamens in Early Spring

Pollen Count Dynamics in Rapeseed Stamens in Early Spring

Using geometric morphometrics to determine the “fittest” floral shape: A case study in large‐flowered, buzz‐pollinated Meriania hernandoi

Asymmetrical disassortative pollination mediated by long‐/short‐tongued pollinators in a distylous Limonium myrianthum (Plumbaginaceae) with a short corolla tubular small flower

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